By Simon Thompson
Writer/director Luke Tedder’s The Caretaker is an unnerving horror film that I would describe as being a combination of Lindsay Anderson’s IF, The Shining, and Next of Kin. The highest compliment that I could give The Caretaker is that it’s the kind of movie I could have seen Ben Wheatley or Neil Marshall directing when they were starting out.
The Caretaker follows Eddie (Ben Probert), a mute, who is caring for his ailing acid-tongued mother (Elizabeth May), whom I would describe as being a horrific amalgamation of Livia Soprano and Agnes Skinner. When Eddie’s mother dies, his financial situation becomes dire, forcing him to take a caretaker job at Lockbridge Academy, an exclusive and remote private school run by the upper-class Aberdeen family. Eddie quickly forms a bond with the school cleaner, Marie (Mackenzie Larsen), as the pair begin to discover that the school is harbouring a dark secret that could destroy the Aberdeens completely.
Tedder’s direction does an excellent job of making Lockbridge feel like an alien environment. As the movie’s protagonist and deuteragonist both come from completely contrasting social backgrounds to the ultra-elite wealthy Aberdeen family (who somehow managed to come across as simultaneously a terrifyingly sinister collection of Tory peers and serious candidates for upper-class twits of the year), they know that their presence is merely tolerated, not welcomed.
Through a quiet sound design, Tedder creates a tense sense of silence, which only adds to the nervousness that you feel as the narrative unfolds. Although I can’t imagine that this movie had a Scrooge McDuckian vault to play with financially, it looks as good as any movie I’ve seen recently with twice the budget. This is because every scene is carefully lit and staged with a strong level of craftsmanship and imagination, proving that you don’t have to overelaborate and that simplicity is always the way to go when it comes to effective horror.
The acting is excellent throughout the movie, but the two cast members that I want to single out for praise specifically are Ben Probert and Scott Hume. Probert is given a tough task in conveying emotion while portraying Eddie, but does a stellar job acting with his eyes and through physical gestures that showcase the character’s vulnerability.
Scott Hume as Charles Aberdeen 3rd, on the other hand, plays a smarmy sociopathic antagonist to a tee. Hume particularly nails the character’s façade of refined upper-class politeness that becomes all the more hollow as the mask slips and the audience gets to know what Charles, and the rest of his family by extension, are truly like.
Overall, The Caretaker is a neat British horror film that signals the bright start of its director Luke Tedder’s career. After reviewing the lingering bucket of regurgitated sick that was the latest Scary Movie the other week, it brings a tear to my eye that original and imaginative filmmaking is still out there.
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